1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a batting aid to assist the batter in maintaining proper eye contact with a pitched ball and more particularly to a device that biases the batter's head to a desired angle of rotation relative to the batter's back hip.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well recognized in the game of baseball that the batter should watch the ball from the moment it leaves the pitcher's hand to the contact zone where the bat meets the ball. A very natural tendency is for the batter to turn his head toward the pitcher during the swing so as to not be facing the contact zone at the proper time. The result is that the ball is often not struck or is struck poorly.
Various prior art devices have attempted to remedy this situation. U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,765 of Stringham describes a batting aid for maintaining eye-to-ball contact during a swing. the device comprises a shoulder piece for fitting against the forward shoulder and a jaw piece for fitting against the batter's jaw. The jaw piece is resiliently connected to the shoulder piece to impede motion of the jaw piece, and consequently of the batter's head, towards the shoulder piece during a swing. U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,165 of Socci discloses another prior art training device for hitting a baseball The device comprises a shoulder harness with a chin holder connected thereto in a manner that allows for movement of the batter's chin in an elliptical manner from the front shoulder to the back shoulder during the course of the swing. U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,118 of Delvaney discloses a batting aid including a flexible strap connecting the batter's back shoulder with the back side of the batter's helmet to hold the head in fixed relationship to the back shoulder.
I have found that such devices which connect the head to the shoulders or upper torso do not hold the head in the best position for striking the ball. This is so because the head must rotate relative to the shoulders during the swing to attain the proper position ball striking position. The present invention provides a superior device for achieving the desired result.